Living a Lie
by La Mesa Bandgeeks15
Summary: Orihime has always believed that the Okami were all bad, but then one saves her life, leaving her confused. What if they aren't all that bad? Orihime will find that out for herself, even if it means that she falls in love with one.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: We don't own bleach or any of its characters ~sigh~ But if we did, Ichigo would already be dating Orihime._

Chapter 1

Okami

_Many years ago, hollows used to roam the earth freely. They were beasts; masked, heartless monsters with only one goal, to eat the souls of humans. They would terrorize many towns and eat all the souls there, leaving nothing left but chaos. No one could stop the ravenous monsters, and no one knew when they would strike next. But, one day, as the hollows were about to attack an island known as Karakura Island, they were attacked by a pack of rather large wolves, later known to the humans as the Okami. They were powerful and were able to kill hollows with their abilities, and soon the hollows were exterminated. The guardians also had human forms, and were accepted and honored by all the inhabitants of Karakura Island. Many festivals were held for the heroes, and in return, they continued exterminating the hollows for many years. Then, for some unknown reason, the Okami betrayed the humans, and after killing of a group of hollows that had attacked the island one day, they tried to kill the humans instead, betraying the help and hospitality that had been given to them. They were defeated and banished from the land and even today, still remain outlaws. For this reason, no one ever goes into the area known as the Abyss of Heroes, for the fear that they will be eaten alive by our so-called saviors._

'The Legend of the Guardians'. A tale that every person living on the beautiful Karakura Island knows. None of the humans ever associated with the guardians, or even went near their abyss. All except for one human. And so our story begins…

…

Tap, tap, tap. A plain wooden pencil being tapped on a plain brown school desk in the middle of a busy, loud classroom. _'Five more seconds, four, now three…'_ Big, gray eyes were staring at the clock, counting the moments until the end of her last day as a High School Junior. _'Two… One…'_

"Ding, Ding, Ding" The final bell rang, and soon everyone was out of their seats, hugging and chatting about what their plan for the summer break was.

"Hey Orihime!" She looked up to find her best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa standing in front of her desk. "What are you doing for your summer break?"

"I don't know yet..." Orihime sighed, her eyes downcast. "Perhaps I'll just spend the summer at home."

This answer seemed to anger Tatsuki. "What? Again? Orihime, you need to do something! And this summer I'll be gone at my summer camp with my dojo!" She stared Orihime down, "You should not spend the entire summer at home Orihime. There are lots of things to do!"

Orihime replied sadly, "Like what?" she asked quietly.

Tatsuki immediately stopped yelling at her, feeling guilty. Instead she put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Orihime," she said, this time with pity and comfort in her voice. "I know you miss Sora, but you can't go on like this! Don't you think that he would want you to have some fun instead of moping around?" Her voice suddenly because tough and determined, "So go have some fun this summer, Orihime! I know! Find a boyfriend! With a beautiful face and boobs that large, every boy on the island would want you!" And with that, Tatsuki bid her friend goodbye and left, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she left to pack for her summer camp.

Orihime sighed as she watched her friend leave._ 'This is going to be a lonely summer.' _She stood up from behind her desk, stuffed all of her things into her bag, and then slowly waded through her fellow classmates to get outside.

"Inoue-san!" She turned around to see Uryu Ishida, jogging towards her. Once he was beside her, he stopped, a small smile on his face. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Sure!" Orihime was grateful to her friend. After her brother, Sora Inoue, had been killed by a hollow a few years ago, Orihime almost never walked home alone anymore. Tatsuki had said that she needed the company, and Orihime enjoyed spending more time with her friends. Normally it was Tatsuki who accompanied her, but she didn't mind walking with Ishida-kun either. He was not very talkative, but still a good and trustworthy friend.

"I haven't seen you around lately," he said quietly.

"Yeah."

"Are you alright? You haven't seemed so well since your brother died." Orihime nodded and Uryu fell silent for the rest of the walk to her house, noticing her stiffness. "Well, um...see you next time." Orihime nodded again, and Uryu turned around and left. Orihime just watched him go silently until he was out of sight, then turned around to enter her apartment, but instead saw the masked face that always haunted her dreams blocking her way.

"Oh, I got a young girl? You look delicious…" He said in an entwined voice that made it sound like the hollow was talking underwater. Orihime wanted to run, but at the same time, she was frozen, and found that she couldn't move. Her heart was pounding almost painfully, her breath coming out in short gasps. Her entire body was trembling, and she wanted to scream, but found that she couldn't. _'I'm going to die, this thing is going to eat me, just like Sora! Please, let it be quick and painless.' _It grabbed her right arm, its claws sinking deep into her muscle, and she screamed. The pain was intense, so intense she felt like she was suffocating. Suddenly she heard a low growl coming from behind her, and something big with four legs jumped over her head and attacked the hollow, landing on its back with its sharp claws sinking into the hollow's back. It let go of her, and she immediately fell backwards to avoid being dragged into the fighting. It looked like a giant wolf with fur the color of dark honey, its ears pinned to its head in alert. 'An okami!' Fear struck her heart, and she wasn't sure which one she was more afraid of, the light brown okami, or the giant masked hollow. She just sat there, watching her two worst fears fight each other. To her horror, the okami seemed to have the upper hand. The okami grabbed the hollow's neck, and in one smooth movement, bit off its head and jumped off of the hollow that was fading into dust. Then it turned to her.

"No, no, no! P-please! Don't eat me!" she begged, crawling back, her eyes shut tight.

"Why would I do that?" Her eyes shot open in surprise. It's not going to eat her? She slowly looked up to the wolf, but instead of fur and a tail, she saw a man, who looked about her age. He had brown eyes that looked like a mix of dark chocolate and reddish honey, giving his eyes an amber shade. To her surprise, he had clothes on. A t-shirt with the number 15 on it that clung onto his muscular chest, and some dark brown cargo pants. She wondered if the 15 symbolized rank. Did that mean he was the 15th strongest? Also, to her surprise, she saw that he was carrying a giant black and white sword across his back. But that wasn't the most surprising. The most surprising trait about him was his bright orange hair. It was even brighter than her burnt amber locks. He noticed her staring and said indignantly, "What?"

"Oh! Sorry!" _'Oops!'_ She hadn't meant to stare. But look at him. His orange hair that looked like fire in the right angle of sunlight...that body that was thin, but still lithe and muscular in just the right places...and those eyes...those eyes that seemed to burn right through her...No! She couldn't be daydreaming at a time like this! He was an okami, for lord's sake! But...a hot one at that...ARGHHH!

He looked at her, noticing the large gashes on her arm, and crouched down. He then opened his mouth (which was full of sharp canine teeth) and sliced open his wrist. She gave him a look of horror, but what shocked her even more was what he said next. He held out his wrist to her mouth, and said "Drink."

Not sure that she heard right, she asked "What?"

"I said drink."

"B-but…" she stammered.

"What?" he said, starting to get annoyed.

"B-but, I'm n-not a vampire!"

He was so surprised that he actually took a step back. "A what?"

"A vampire! They come out in the middle of the night to drink people's blood or turn other people in to one of their kind!"

The okami laughed, a light baritone laugh that made her blush deeply. "I don't think that you're a vampire or whatever you call it."

Shocked, Orihime said "You don't?" He shook his head. "Then why do you want me to drink your blood?"

He laughed again, and gestured to her injured arm which, because of her fear, she had previously forgotten about. "Our blood has healing properties, which is why we are so hard to kill. But, in order for the magical properties to work, we have to willingly give it over. So drink." He said once again holding out his arm to her lips. She hesitated, but took a sip, expecting the usual metal taste. But instead of the coppery tang of blood she had expected, his blood, strangely, tasted like vanilla ice cream, which used to be her favorite ice cream before her brother died. The okami withdrew his arm and started to bandage the cut with some cloth that he had pulled from his pocket. Then, she felt a slight tingling in her right arm. She looked at her arm, and found her skin working its way back together the muscle and fat melding back. When it was done, her arm looked brand new.

"Whoa! Cool!"

The okami nodded in agreement and stood up, dusting his pants. Then, he held out his hand and she took it, slightly blushing. His hand was big and calloused, but still warm and gentle. He helped her to her feet, then introduced himself. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki… Hey! Why are you laughing?"

Orihime let out some loud snorts of laughter at the mention of his name. "I-ichigo? Y-you mean l-like, strawberry?" At that she burst in to even more fits of laughter. Ichigo seemed to get really annoyed, but she didn't really notice. Strawberry? That was cute!

"Hey! That's not what it means! It means the one who protects! Not strawberry! Hey, stop laughing at me!"

"S-sorry," she said, in between giggles, and she covered her mouth, trying to stop them. "M-my name i-is O-o-orihime Inoue!"

Ichigo smiled, "Nice to meet you Orihime."

"Nice t-to meet y-you too I-ichigo!" she said, and finally started to calm down, but made sure to keep her thoughts far away from strawberries. As she put away those thoughts, she found herself staring at Ichigo. _'He sure is handsome. Why did King Aizen say the okami were traitors? He seems fine to me…'_

"Orihime, you're staring at me again," he said, pulling her from her thoughts and back to the real world.

"Oh, sorry," she blushed.

He nodded. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just wondering why –" but before she could complete her sentence, she suddenly found herself swaying with sudden dizziness, before she a pair of muscular arms caught her.

"Are you alright?" Orihime nodded slightly, then her vision went black, and she fell into the land of her dreams. The last thing she felt were those strong arms gently lowering her to the ground.

* * *

><p>AN: Hi! This is our second fic, Living a Lie. Oh, and THIS IS NOT BASED ON TWILIGHT. We got the okami details from a book we were reading called Nightshade, and the original storyline was Ashley's idea. Well please review to tell us what you think!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ichigo stood there in the shadows, silently watching the beautiful girl lying there on the ground. After she had fainted, he had genteelly laid her down on the ground for someone else, a human this time, to pick her up and take her back to be with the humans where she belonged. But somehow, even when he had reverted to his wolf form, where his thoughts were slightly less complex and more animal-like, he still found himself staring at her unconscious form. She had looked so innocent and beautiful just lying there on the hard asphalt, and he found himself unwilling to leave her side. So he watched, and soon, a guy with glasses had come rushing towards her and had taken a small, familiar looking object from his pocket (his wolf brain couldn't exactly wrap its mind around what it was actually called) and started pressing things. The glasses guy held it to his ear and started to speak. When he heard the sirens, Ichigo-wolf followed his instincts and fled the scene. Even as a wolf, he knew that humans did not like his kind and knew to avoid all contact with then at all times.

So why did he save the girl? He still didn't know.

…

When Orihime finally came to, she found herself in a white hospital bed with Uryu, Chad, Chizuru and a few other friends anxiously crowded around her bed. Even Tatsuki came back from her summer dojo camp for some reason. When she had opened her eyes, she saw all the faces around her suddenly relax.

"W-What happened? Why am I at the hospital?" she inquired.

Tatsuki looked at her fiercely, "You were attacked by a hollow and you ask us why you are here? I'm shocked you're not hurt! You were out for so long, that we all thought you had died!"

Orihime sat up, shocked. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days."

Orihime lay back down on her bed. _'I was out for three days? I just remember blacking out and I was caught by Ichigo… Ichigo! What happened to him?' _"Where is Ichigo?"

"Ichigo? Who is that?" Tatsuki wondered if he was just another figment of Orihime's imagination. _'Seriously? Who would name their son strawberry?'_

"He's an okami I met! A nice one who saved me from the hollow!" At these words everyone in the room tensed up. Tatsuki looked angry and immediately got up from her chair, shocked at what her friend was imagining. But before she could open her mouth to give her friend a lecture, they heard muted footsteps getting closer and closer to Orihime's door.

The footsteps stopped outside of her door, and a stuttering voice said, "T-This is the door, m-my l-lord."

"Good, now let me in," replied a deep male voice. The door immediately swung open to reveal two people. One was the young doctor, Hanatarou, but the other was a tall figure wearing white robes, who could be none other than…

"Good morning, Lord Aizen," said everyone in the room, lowering their heads in a bow. Aizen smiled.

"You may rise," he said to everyone in the room, but then turned his dark brown eyes to Orihime. Sensing his gaze, the large gray eyes met the brown pair. She felt a shiver go down her spine, and immediately looked down and found a sudden interest in her bed sheets. Aizen chuckled, then resumed speaking. "Well young Miss Orihime, would you mind giving me a short briefing about your short adventure?"

"H-how do you know my name?"

"Well, everyone does. You've just survived an attack from a hollow, so of course that would be posted all over the news."

Orihime was shocked, but it was expected. Carefully avoiding his eyes, she explained what had happened to her, starting from seeing the hollow. Aizen listened thoughtfully, and his eyes gleamed angrily at the mention of the okami. When she was finished, he said, "I see. And what was that young okami's name?"

"I-Ichigo Kurosaki, my lord."

He nodded, deep in thought about what he had just heard. "Well then, you seem to be thinking that this okami saved your life?"

"B-But he did Aizen-sama!" Orihime stuttered. Why didn't he believe her?

"Of course he didn't. That was just the memory reverser that he put into your mind to make it seem like a hollow attacked you, when really it was him. Be careful, Orihime-san, these okami are very dangerous and we wouldn't want you to be killed, would we?" he said, his eyes never leaving her face. "Well then, I'd better be going now. And stay away from those okami Orihime-san." And with that, he left the room, with a stuttering Hanatarou in pursuit.

Orihime just sat there on her bed, thinking. _'Aizen-sama's story didn't make any sense. If Ichigo was attacking me and slashed my arm, then why did he heal me?' _ She sat there in silence, thinking. When her friends realized that she was fine and completely unhurt, they eventually left, with the occasional visits, but mostly leaving her alone to think about Ichigo. Aizen-sama's words had confused her. Was Ichigo really good or bad?

…

Ichigo-wolf ran to the place he knew best, the forest in which his pack lived. It was a long, 3-day trip to get home, but he was glad to finally be getting back. He didn't like it much out there with the humans; they stunk, and he always had to hide himself. On the way he met two okami, one a smaller black one with violet eyes, and the other a reddish-brown one with brown eyes and strange black markings on its fur. Since wolves can't talk, instead they send each other images as a way to communicate, but they can also smell each other's emotions. Ichigo smelled the curiosity rolling off of the two wolves, and he sent them an image of the apartments, him fighting the hollow, and of the beautiful auburn haired girl. The black wolf growled, its disapproval evident. Ichigo-wolf bounded past them slightly, then changed forms. When he turned around again, the two wolves were gone, and in their place were two people. One was a short, raven haired girl with violet eyes, and the other was a man slightly taller than Ichigo, with red hair tied up in a ponytail so that it looked like a pineapple's top and tattoos on his forehead and chest.

The raven-haired girl immediately ran up to him and grabbed a fistful of his shirt as she yelled into his ear, "What the hell is wrong with you! You saved a human? They killed and banished us for something we didn't do! They even killed your mother! And you went out of your way to save one?" As she continued yelling angrily in his ear, he laughed. He could smell her jealously. He was one of the few okami who could still smell emotions even after he had reverted to his human form.

"What are you laughing at? This isn't funny! Y-"

"Jealous, Rukia?" When he saw her face immediately turn red, he laughed again. He knew that Rukia had a crush on him forever, but had never really returned the feelings. He looked up to see Renji, the red haired man, glaring at him. He smelled of jealously, too. Ichigo immediately stopped his laugh in its tracks. Renji had loved Rukia ever since they were kids, but she didn't feel the same way. Sighing he turned around and started on the way to his home, Rukia and Renji at his side. As he looked around he saw many of his fellow okami in wolf form and tried to place each one. The large dark brown one was Kyoraku-san, and the black one with white spots around her eyes that was trailing him, was Nanoe. A black, scarred, and rugged looking one was Kenpachi, and close by, there was a dark brown one that was Ikkaku. Looking at all of his friends, he immediately found his thoughts wandering to Orihime. _'What would she look like as a wolf?'_ He immediately imagined another honey-colored one like him, except a lighter shade and with gray eyes. He found himself smiling and wishing that she could- He immediately pushed the thought out of his mind. She was a human, and he was an okami. He would most likely never see her again.

…

"And up next on KNC, we will be featuring our latest update about the story of the girl who survived the hollow …" The TV screen went black as Orihime turned it off. She couldn't turn to any channels without seeing her picture or hearing her name as the news stations retold her story.

It had been a few days after her meeting King Aizen, and after many tests, and many assurances that she truly was fine, Orihime had been finally released from the hospital to go back to her small, lonely apartment. Even though her friends still had the habit of checking up on her, it was still very lonely. At first, she actually thought that this summer would be different. She had been attacked by a hollow, and saved by an okami, the known traitors. But now he was gone, and in her heart, she knew that he wasn't coming back. But that didn't stop her from hoping. As she looked out her window, she just saw the same thing that she always saw, the street, and the apartments on the other side. She sighed, and was about to turn away, but then something caught her eye, something a startling bright blue… She looked back out and found herself staring at two bright blue eyes peering out from the shadows in an alleyway between the other two apartments. A shiver ran down her spine as she leaned in to try and make out a figure from the darkness. Was it a human or an okami? But before she could make out anything else, it had disappeared again. She sighed and went back to the book that she was reading. Not too long ago, it had been her favorite book, but now it just seem boring to her and her attention kept on sliding to the handsome young okami, Ichigo. She wondered what other powers he might have. Could he fly? Turn invisible? She sighed again as the big question slide back into her mind; had he really had been trying to kill her? Or was he a good guy? Was Aizen-sama wrong about him? Or was he really telling the truth? She got up from her desk as she made her decision. She would go to the Abyss of Heroes, the forest where the okami lurked, and she would ask Ichigo for the truth. The whole truth. She grabbed her bags as she started to pack and got ready to set off on the long journey to see her hero.

A.N.- So Hime is going to see her young (and HOT!) hero… Please review! Reviews are what keep us going!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Well, I guess we should start doing disclaimers.

Disclaimer: We don't own Ichigo, Orihime, or any other Bleach characters in this story.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

Ichigo could smell her from miles away. That strong smell of lilac and honey perfume reached his nose, even in his forest. Rukia and Renji noticed the sudden change in behavior. His hair stood on edge, and he visibly tensed. Rukia's eyes narrowed as she also caught the scent, leaving with a 'humph'. He sighed as Renji immediately rushed after her. _'I might as well go meet her now.'_ he thought to himself, and his heart started to race at the thought of Orihime, her heart-shaped face, her big ash gray eyes, and her smile that could light up a tho- He shook his head, mentally scolding himself for even thinking about something like that. He would find her, talk to her, ask her why she was here, and then ask her to leave and not come back here. But would he be able to say that?

…

Orihime stepped off of the train, exited the subway station, and walked into the legendary town of Yukan'na. Yukan'na was famous for the fact that it was the town where the okami were first spotted, and where they had betrayed them. The train station was on the left side of town. In the middle of the town, there was a big banner that says," Welcome to Yukan'na!" On the sidewalk, there were tons of stores with people bustling around, finishing their business. In the distance, she could vaguely spot a school. Finally, there was a forest of giant oak trees to her left, said to reach into the heavens. It was called the Abyss of Heroes, and was the place where the okami were banished to. She looked around at the busy town. People were everywhere, taking pictures, buying souvenirs, and watching the forest from a safe distance, hoping to catch a glace of the sly okami. As she tried to maneuver through the crowds, she wondered how Ichigo had ever gotten out of the forest without being seen. She doubted that even a fly would go unnoticed in this large place. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around quickly, accidentally slapping the person behind her in the face.

"Ack! Hey!" said a familiar voice, and her eyes widened.

"Ichigo?" She looked at him, and saw that it really was him.

"Yes, it's me," he said, a slight hint of irritation in his voice.

"Ho—"

Ichigo clamped a calloused hand over her mouth. "Shh! Not yet. Come with me. We need a place where we can talk."

He started walking at a brisk pace. She immediately rushed after him so that she wouldn't lose him in the crowds and found that he was leading her over towards an old, dilapidated inn. There were strange charms hanging all over the place, and strange symbols were carved into the walls. It gave her a bad feeling, as if someone, or something, was watching her.

"I-Ichigo? What is this place?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes with a small smirk. "It seems that the magic is working."

Orihime's eyes widened. "Magic? You mean like witches?"

Ichigo laughed at her expression. "Yeah, but we call them mages." He opened up the door for her, and she took a step in. The bad feeling immediately disappeared, and was a replaced with a feeling of security.

"Whoa! Cool!"

He laughed again, then came in after her and shut the door. "We had this spell put up to keep humans out. It's our way into our home, and out of it."

Orihime looked around. The place was small, but very homey. It gave off a very relaxing feeling, and everywhere she looked okami were socializing, and just hanging around.

"Hello again, Ichigo-kun. Back so soon?" Orihime turned around and saw a young woman walking toward them. She was very pretty, and had pitch-black hair with blonde highlights. She was wearing a plain black dress, and high heels. She had many charms hanging around her neck and a sapphire ring on her index finger. Orihime realized with a jolt that she must be the mage that lived here.

"Hey, Kimiko. I was just going out to get this young lady and save her from the crowds," he said cooly, "Orihime, this is Kimiko Shimizu. Kimiko, meet Orihime Inoue." Kimiko smiled at her, although Orihime could tell that the smile was forced.

"You brought a human here?" She said, turning back to Ichigo. "You know, it isn't safe for her to be here. Most okami don't welcome humans."

Ichigo nodded, then put an arm around Orihime's waist, guiding her to some chairs in a corner away from Kimiko. "Sorry about her," He whispered in her ear, "She doesn't like humans much."

Orihime nodded silently, and sat down in one of the chairs. Ichigo sat down one the other one and asked, "Why did you come?"

Orihime looked up, "Did you really save me from that hollow?"

Ichigo looked at her surprised. "Yes! Why would you even ask that?"

She blushed, "Because… uh...never mind."

Ichigo looked incredulous, but just as he opened his mouth to talk, he all of a sudden bared his teeth in a snarl. His teeth, that were smooth as they were chatting, once again turned sharp and deadly. He suddenly grabbed her waist and hoisted up onto his shoulder, and ran to a little hallway where the mage was just sitting down and relaxing. At Ichigo's approach, she looked up. "Need the portal?"

Ichigo nodded, and with a whishing sound, he ran straight to a wall. She braced for the impact, but felt none. Shocked, she turned her head, and looked around.

She was in a forest where evergreen trees seemed to reach up into the heavens. Everything was in shadow, but she knew where she was; the Abyss of Heroes.

…

Aizen looked around the busy town, over all of the bowed heads, searching for a glimpse of long auburn hair, or a glimmer of blue hairpins. He did not see any of the above. He turned to the man next to him.

"Are you sure she was here?"

The other guy looked up, so that bright blue eyes were just visible underneath the rim of his hood. "Oh I'm sure alright Aizen-sama. She was here."

Aizen raised his eyebrows. "Was?"

"Oh she isn't here anymore, she just left with Kurosaki to the Abyss of Heroes."

Aizen smiled. "Good. Everything will be as planned."

…

Ichigo genteelly put Orihime back on the ground, she looked around, scared. "Why did you take me here?" This was the forbidden forest. The sanctuary of the okami. She trusted Ichigo, but the rest of the okami were dangerous murders in her mind.

Ichigo looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, "I smelled him," he growled, and the name came out like a snarl, "Aizen."

Orihime's eyes widened, "L-Lord Aizen was here?"

Ichigo nodded, his fists white from being clenched so hard. Noticing her staring, he unclenched his fist and started rubbing feeling back into his hands. "Sorry. I just hate that man. He killed my mother." His eyes filled with pain, and she felt a wave of remorse and guilt hit her. She knew how it felt to loose someone dear to you. She put a hand on his arm and he stared into her eyes. His amber brown eyes were so deep, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. She blushed, and removed her hand, looking at everything but Ichigo. From next to her, she heard him sigh.

"S-Sorry," she stammered. He just nodded and the moment passed just as quickly as it had come.

"Well," he said, gesturing in front of him where a wooden wall stood high and strong. "Since we're already here, I might as well show you around."

…

The town was big, and made out of giant wooden houses. It was actually kind of cute, and kind of reminded Orihime of villages that are commonly seen in fairy tales. But as they continued on, the houses grew bigger and bigger until they were the size of mansions. Ichigo led her on, occasionally pointing out things, until they reached the biggest home. It was right in the middle, and had many banners on it. It was very colorful, and reminded her of a town hall. Ichigo sighed, "Welcome to my home."

They stepped inside. The inside of the house was nothing like the outside. It was very neat, and immaculate. The counters were white marble and the cabinets were wooden painted white. As soon as they came in, they heard an excited shout coming from off to the side, "Onii-san!"

A young brown haired girl ran into the room and hugged Ichigo. "Onii-san! You're home from the watch early!" Ichigo looked at her.

"Hey Yuzu."

As soon as she saw Orihime, she gave a little gasp. "Who is this onii-san?"

"A friend. Where is dad?"

"He's in the office." With that, he grabbed Orihime's arm and lead her through a maze of walls filled with pictures. Each one showed Ichigo with two younger girls, one was Yuzu, the light brow haired one that she had just seen, and the other was a young girl about the same age as Yuzu, but with short brown hair. Some were taken with an older man with black hair whom she assumed to be Ichigo's dad, and the other was taken with a pretty woman with long light brown hair. 'That must be his mom,' She thought. "Hurry up!" called Ichigo.

"Haii!" she said and raced to catch up with him. Not long after, they reached a plain door. Ichigo opened it, and motioned for her to follow him in. She stepped in, and saw a big, square library with one long desk in the middle. They waited for the man sitting in the chair, who she recognized from the pictures, to notice them. He looked up, and immediately the serious face changed.

"IIIIIIIIIII…chiiiiiiiiii….goooooooooooooo! You've come back!" He pounced at Ichigo, but Ichigo dodged.

"That crazy old man," he murmured to himself.

His dad got up from the ground, seemingly unfazed. "My son! You've improved!" turning, he noticed her for the first time, "And you've brought such a pretty young woman here too! Congratulations! And to think that I thought you were gay!"

"What?" Ichigo turned to him, angry. "I'm not gay! And she's not my girlfriend!"

Ichigo's dad shook his head, "Such a shame," he held out his hand, and Orihime took it, "Nice to meet you! I'm Isshin Kurosaki."

Orihime smiled at him, "Nice to meet you too Kurosaki-san. I'm Orihime Inoue" Ichigo scowled.

"Well, anyways, she might have to be staying here-" He started but was cut off.

"She's staying?" his father shouted, and raced over to a giant picture of who she assumed to be Ichigo's mom, "Did you hear that Masaki? We have a third daughter!" Ichigo punched him in the face.

"Shut up dad!"

Isshin smirked. "No need to be so mean. Well anyways, Orihime-san, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want. Ichigo can show you to your room."

Ichigo shook his head, "No, make Yuzu do it. I have to talk to you about something."

"Fine, fine. I get it. So you really are gay?" Isshin said, shaking his head.

"No! I told you I had to speak to you! Can't you stay serious for even a second?"

Isshin sighed, "Well at least walk her to the kitchen where Yuzu is."

Ichigo sighed. "Come on." He led her back where they had come from, where he repeated his dad's instructions to Yuzu. As she was led away by her eager guide, she couldn't help but to wonder, _'What is Ichigo keeping from me?'_

…

The door to Isshin's office opened once more. Isshin looked up from his paper work to see his son coming back through, and closing the door quietly. "So, what do you want to tell me now, son."

Ichigo hesitated, "Aizen was following Orihime today."

"Aizen? Why would he do that? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I wonder…" he said trailing off. "You may go, Ichigo."

Ichigo looked shocked, "What? I'm not done talking to you, you old-"

"Go, Ichigo. I need some time to think." Ichigo looked like he was going to say more, but reluctantly, he left the room. Isshin leaned back in his chair and contemplated what he had just heard. _'Aizen following just a normal girl? Not possible. What is he up to?_' A thought stuck him as he remembered the girl's last name. He sat up in surprise, _'Impossible! She can't be!'_

* * *

><p>AN: Well, finally we completed the chapter. Sorry we took a really long time, but homework is a big impediment to writing our stories. Well here it is! Hope you enjoy it! Please Review! We love reviews!<p> 


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